Box Score

• Final Game Statistics

Photo by Geoff Anderson A'mod Ned led the Golden Panthers with 90 all-purpose yards in his collegiate debut, but FIU fell to 0-3 in the Sun Belt Conference standings with an 18-13 loss at Troy, Thursday night.

The turnover bug bit FIU again Thursday night in its Sun Belt Conference football game at Troy (3-4, 2-1 Sun Belt). The Golden Panthers turned the ball over five times, resulting in six Trojan points that spelled the difference in an 18-13 loss.

The biggest turnover of the night happened while FIU (1-5, 0-3) was driving in the final minutes of the game. The Golden Panthers had a first-and-10 at the Troy 28 when quarterback Josh Padrick fired a low pass to running back Adam Gorman, who picked the ball off the turf in what was ruled a completed pass.

Gorman turned down field and, while struggling for extra yardage, had the ball stripped by Troy’s Leverne Johnson, losing possession, and ultimately the ball game.

Padrick fired a school record 51 pass attempts, completing 31 for 247 yards and a touchdown. But his offensive line, already hurting with the absence of starting tackle John Shanahan (ankle) and guard Ed Wenger (concussion) was further decimated when guard Ronny Silva went down in the second quarter with what was later diagnosed with a fractured left fibula. He'll undergo surgery this weekend and be lost for the remainder of the season

Despite the best efforts of reserve senior Patrick Mullen (for Shanahan), redshirt freshman Xavier Shannon (for Wenger) and sophomore Mike Alvarez (for Silva), Padrick was sacked four times and was rushed and forced out of the pocket on numerous occasions.

"We didn't get it done," said FIU head coach Don Strock. "We had too many turnovers and you can't win games when you lose the turnover battle. We talk about that every week. It's not like we're not trying, but we're being too careless with the ball at times."

After a scoreless first quarter, FIU’s inability to hold onto the ball put them in a 3-0 hole.
On a third-and-six play, Padrick was flushed out of the packet when he dropped the ball while trying to dodge a would-be tackler. Troy took over on the FIU 25 and came away with a 34-yard Greg Whibbs field goal for the first score of the game.

Troy made it 10-0 midway through the quarter when freshman quarterback Julian Foster, making his first career start, tossed his first career TD pass, a 51-yard bomb to fellow freshman Darius Williams, capping a three-play, 80-yard drive.

FIU cracked the scoreboard just prior to the half on an Adam Moss 38-yard field goal. It was his seventh field goal of the season in eight attempts and his longest of the year. The Golden Panthers moved the ball 65 yards on 15 plays using up 5:53 of the clock.

Troy opened the third quarter moving the ball to the FIU 37 before the Golden Panther defense forced a punt. But FIU gave the ball right back when Cory McKinney dropped the short punt, recovered by the Trojans at the Golden Panthers 21. Troy cashed in on the error with a Whibbs’ second field goal of the game, this time from 32 yards, for a 13-3 lead.

Padrick engineered another long, time-consuming drive that resulted in the Golden Panthers first touchdown of the game and their first since the first quarter of last week’s game against North Texas. He completed six-of-seven passes, including one to A’mod Ned for 11 yards that gave the junior signal-caller 6,000 career passing yards. He capped off the drive with a 10-yard TD completion to Julius Eppinger.

It was Ned’s first collegiate appearance for the Golden Panthers and the former Broward County rushing leader was the leading runner for FIU with 51 yards on 16 carries to go along with five catches for 39 yards.

The Golden Panthers tied the score at 13, with 1:15 to play in the third quarter on a Moss 24-yard field goal set up by Nick Turnbull’s 15 career interception. But Troy jumped back on top, 16-13, on a school-record tying third field goal by Whibbs from a career-long 48 yards out with 12:56 left to play.

The record play fired up the Trojan fans and defense. FIU started its ensuing drive from the Troy 17, but a loss of three on an end around running attempt and an 11 yard sack put the Golden Panthers in a fourth-and-24 situation at their own three. But instead of punting from the back of the end zone, Strock had punter Chris Patullo take a safety, which gave Troy an 18-13 lead with 11:07 to play.

The strategy appeared to work when Alexander Bostic III recovered a fumble at the FIU 44 on a botched shotgun snap from center but the Golden Panthers could not convert when, on a fourth-and-two from the 34, what seemed like a first-down pass intended for Chandler Williams was dropped at the 30.

"It was my call," said the coach. "We'd be short kicking just trying to get it out of there. We'd have to keep the ends in to block and they have a dangerous punt returner. Kicking the ball would have put them in a good position to possibly score with a touchdown or on a field goal and I didn't want to do that because our defense was playing a hell of a game."

Anchored by middle linebacker Keyonvis Bouie who led all tacklers with a career-best 18 stops, the Golden Panthers limited the Trojans to 273 total yards, recovered a pair of fumbles, forced an interception, recorded three sacks and turned the ball over to the FIU offense who dominated possession time in each of the first three quarters.

"Let's give credit where credit's due," said Strock. "Troy played very well tonight; that's the bottom line. We had our opportunities but they went out and won the football game."

The Golden Panthers will now try to dodge the effects of Hurricane Wilma before taking on Middle Tennessee next Saturday, October 29 at FIU Stadium for Homecoming. For information and tickets, call toll-free (866) FIU-GAME or (305) 348-4263 in Miami-Dade.